Glass Skylights Ride Out the Storm
The old skylights on top of the eight story building at the Lausanne Condominiums were constructed of acrylic and an old ball and strut designed framework. The Lausanne board members decided they should replace the system because of signs of wear and tear, such as rusted anchor bolts, crazing in the acrylic, etc. They knew they were on borrowed time and set out to get the skylights replaced.
Fast forward a couple years and the skylights were successfully replaced on August 1st 2017 by Skylight Specialists, Inc. Six weeks later, on September 10th, as the Irma Hurricane eyewall moved over Naples late Sunday afternoon, it was reported that they had sustained winds of 93 mph and a gust to 142 mph – the strongest recorded from this storm in the United States.
The glass skylight rode out the storm with no damage and with no failures of any kind.
We weathered the storm quite well. The domes are perfect! Structurally, we did very well. Lots of debris from trees and shrubs. You all did a fantastic job…. these domes are hurricane proof! Thank you.
The owners foresight and decision making process was just in time, literally replacing their old skylight that likely would not have survived the hurricane, just six weeks before.
Wow! Talk about quality skylights. It’s interesting that these survived, especially considering the AIA released a billings index that showed that natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires have slowed architectural design in 2018. Good thing they were replaced!
Here is the article about the report, if anyone is interested! AIA Billings Index: Hurricanes and Wildfires Slow Design Business in October: https://www.residentialdesignmagazine.com/15837/aia-billings-index-hurricanes-and-wildfires-slow-design-business-in-october/
Thanks for a great post!
Marissa